Description

The Serbian ex-soldier Niko Bellic had witnessed the horrors of war, which turned him bitter and cynical. Disappointed by life, he immigrates to the United States, which his cousin Roman enthusiastically describes as a country of wealth and pleasure. However, the reality is quite different: Roman is poor, has no stable job, and owes money to some dubious individuals. As Niko attempts to help his hapless cousin and pave a more secure future for both of them, he becomes more and more involved in the life of crime. A burning desire to find a man who had betrayed him in Serbia forces Niko to make deals with his conscience, and once he crosses the line, there is no way back...

Grand Theft Auto IV is the ninth title and the fourth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, and also the first for the seventh generation of consoles. Following the tradition of the 3D installments of the series, the game is entirely located in one of the three cities of the original GTA, Liberty City, but now in present time, and with an environment reminiscent of GTA III, though bigger and more detailed. Liberty City is heavily based on New York, where the protagonist has to gain respect, welfare and power throughout the game.

Like in most GTA games, the city map is gradually uncovered during the course of the game. The player starts in Broker (based on Brooklyn), and, in order to access the other three districts of the city (based on the other major boroughs of New York City), has to make progress in the storyline. The game has the usual structure based on missions. The player can sometimes engage in various missions at the same time, and has free access to the non-mission features of the game while being on one.

Most of the usual elements of exploration and interaction with the city are included in GTA IV. Niko can cause mayhem in the city, hijack cars, listen to radio stations, observe the behavior of the citizens, enter thematic buildings, work as vigilante, taxi driver, or ambulance driver, hire a prostitute, go to a strip club, and so on. Among the new features is the possibility to watch television (with several channels broadcasting various fictional programs) and connect to a fictional Internet, with functional websites (mostly of a humorous nature) created specifically for the game, and an e-mail program. Other additions include looking for criminals in the police department database from a police car, hiring taxi cabs to safely travel to selected destinations, extensive usage of the mobile phone, improved A.I. of the pedestrians, and others.

Some features from the previous games are missing, such as drivable airplanes and a few other vehicle types. Niko retains the ability to swim and engage in romantic relationships with female characters, features first introduced in San Andreas. However, the light role-playing elements (training to increase stamina, eating, etc.) from the previous entry have been removed.

GTA IV focuses on third-person shooter gameplay more than the previous installments; most of the missions have larger portions dedicated to on-foot navigation and shooting. Crouching, leaning, and taking cover play a more important role in combat. Hand-to-hand combat has also been re-designed, Niko being able to execute more precise moves.

The game uses the euphoria motion engine, an alternate middleware solution much like ragdoll physics, which makes all people in the game world move realistically depending on the situation around them. For example, every time Niko enters a car, a different animation will be generated depending on his position relative to the car.

A new feature compared to the predecessors is the multiplayer. The same free-roaming environment is offered for up to 16 players (32 in the Windows version) in 15 modes. Certain modes narrow down the environment to make sure players remain somewhat in each other's vicinity. Compared to the console releases, the Windows release features high resolution graphics, a video editor to capture and edit in-game footage, and the possibility to customize the radio station Independence FM with own songs.

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Australian release

To avoid the problems Rockstar faced with releasing the GTA series in Australia in the past, a crippled version was released so that the game could meet the highest rating of MA15+. Rockstar is still refusing to tell Australians what was censored in their release. Here is a rundown of what has been changed:

There are no blood pools created after the player kills a person, whether they are a pedestrian or enemy; and bloody tire tracks cannot be created when the player drives their car through a blood pool.

When having sex with hookers, the car can only be seen bouncing from the rear view and players cannot choose between a blow job, hand job, and regular intercourse; and the sex animations are not present. Also, the camera is locked to a rear view and it cannot be rotated.

Light blood patches representing bruises and bullet wounds on the body are non-existent.

Brucie

Brucie, one of the game's "mission-giving" characters, can be seen working out during one of the cut scenes; it is easy to notice tattoos of Chinese characters covering his body. On his chest is the character 我, which means "I"; on the back are the characters 人妖, which mean... "transsexual"! Consider Brucie's constant bragging of his own masculinity and heterosexuality...

Development

Originally planned for a 2007 release, the game was delayed until April 29th. According to the publisher the delay was caused by the nature of dual-platform development.

Katt Williams and Ricky Gervais both did full motion and voice capture for their brief appearances in their own comedy skits on the television.

Melee Combat

Records

GTA IV has broken the following records:

Highest Production Budget: in an interview with The Times in April 2008, producer Leslie Benzies estimated that production costs on the game reached $100 million, smashing the previous record of $70 million set by Shenmue.

Largest Soundtrack in a Video Game: The game features 18 radio stations playing 218 licensed tracks, beating the previous record of 156 songs set in GTA: San Andreas.

Largest Voice Cast in a Video Game: the game boasts a total credited cast of 861 voice actors, including 174 actors playing named characters, DJs, and TV voiceovers. Many of the additional 687 voices were volunteered by people who just wanted a chance to be heard in the game.

Most Successful Entertainment Product Launch: on April 29, 2008, the game generated $310 million of sales worldwide in one day.

References to other Rockstar Games

One area of the game features a wall of graffiti which has the words 'Claude', 'Carl' and the phrase 'Remember Tommy' written on it. These are references to the protagonists of past GTA games.

Official art from past GTA games is interlaced into some of the random graffiti found throughout the city. Notably 8 ball and El Burro from GTA III.

If you gain access to Playboy X's mansion the clothes of GTA III protagonist Claude become available for Niko to wear.

If you visit the miniature golf course it is possible to find the following land marks from past GTA games used on the course: The Ocean View Hotel from GTA: Vice City, the giant chicken from GTA: San Andreas, the farm windmill from San Andreas' countryside, the Watts Towers re-creations from Los Santos and the lighthouse from the old Liberty City, as seen in GTA III and GTA: Liberty City Stories. It is interesting to note that the models and textures are ripped directly from the original games.

When Niko hands his resumé to the lawyers it says he attended Bullworth University in England. The game Bully, also published by Rockstar, was set in Bullworth Academy in New England.

If you visit www.littlelacysurprisepageant.com at the Internet Cafe, you will find a page that warns you've been caught by an LCPD pedophilia sting and immediately receive a 5-star wanted level. Little Lacy Surprise originated on the radio in GTA: Vice City Stories.

Jimmy, the protagonist from Rockstar's game Bully can be found walking outside Hove Beach Railway Station at certain times. This also makes him the first child that can be killed in a GTA game.

References

The mission called "I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle" is a direct reference to Terminator 2. The exact phrase is said by the Terminator during T2's opening moments.

Like past GTA's, GTA IV contains references to other open world games. The area Stillwater ave. is named after the city from Saints Row. The hotdog vendor slogan, 'You can't beat our meat', is also the same as the slogan for the Freckle Bi****s restaurant in Saint's Row. Finally there is a 'squids row - budget seafood' billboard which may be another reference to Saints Row. Some people also conclude that this could be a reference to the term "skid row".

The mission 'concrete jungle' may be a reference to the poorly received Predator open world game.

The song Concrete Jungle by Bob Marley & The Wailers is also featured in the game on the Tuff Gong radio station.

References to the game

Grand Theft Auto IV was parodied in an episode of "Die Redaktion" (The Editorial Team), a monthly comedy video produced by the German gaming magazine GameStar. It was published on the DVD of issue 03/2009.